The only Roman emperor's sceptre to have been found has gone on public display in Rome for the first time.

The sceptre, which is topped by a blue orb that represents the earth, was discovered at the end of last year and is believed to have been held by Emperor Maxentius, who ruled for six years until 312 AD.

Archaeologists believe that Maxentius' supporters hid the sceptre...to prevent it from falling into enemy hands.

Coolipolis has an article concerning the continuing adventures of Montreal mayor Tremblay.

Montreal has always been able to throw up little tin plated dictator mayors, but in Tremblay is sounds like they have a doozie.

After him ramming through* a name change for Parc Ave (now it's Avenue de Boo-Boo), now he remains steadfast in resisting right turns at red lights in the city.

...the island of Montreal, which sees 20,000 residents leave per year, remains the last of North America's fascist redlightocracies, the only place other than Manhattan in the entire Can-Am that forces people to sit at right lights even when they want to turn right when nobody is around.

To add hypocrisy to its anti-environmental folly, a coupla dozen months back the city passed a bylaw. Police can now slap people with tickets for daring to warm up their cars before getting in them. Running a car unnecessarily pollutes the environment.

And yet the city forces drivers against their will to commit their grievous sin against the environment by making them wait unnecessarily at right lights.

Ekkk, 20,000 a year...

*Update, according to Kate at montreal city weblog, the Mayor backed off the name change after public protest. Woohoo, this makes him slightly less tin potish.

Tuesday, February 27, 2007

A San Francisco weekly newspaper that bills itself as "The Voice of Asian America" is facing harsh criticism from that very community for publishing a column Friday titled "Why I Hate Blacks."

In the column, AsianWeek regular contributor Kenneth Eng listed "reasons" to discriminate against African Americans. The piece has been pulled from the newspaper's Web site, but the print edition of the free paper, owned by the politically influential Fang family, was still available in news racks Monday.

Eng called himself an "Asian supremacist" in January in another installment of the column, which runs under the label "God of the Universe."

First I'd like to say that Mr. Eng and the publishers of AsianWeek don't seem to be the brightest of lights.

"…It would be like saying that after Adolf Hitler was overthrown, we needed to change then, the resolution that allowed the United States to do that, so that we could deal with creating a stable environment in Europe after he was overthrown."

Monday, February 26, 2007

The traditional story of the peopling of the New World holds that ancient migrants out of northeast Asia slipped into the Americas bearing finely shaped stone projectiles, so-called "Clovis points," after the town in New Mexico where they were first uncovered. This Clovis culture rapidly spread throughout the empty continents and by 1,000 years after their arrival had reached the southernmost tip of what is now South America, making them the original ancestors of indigenous Americans. A number of controversial archaeological sites have challenged this theory and now, by using more advanced dating techniques, researchers may have killed it, throwing the original population of the Western Hemisphere into question again.

Conservapedia is a much-needed alternative to Wikipedia, which is increasingly anti-Christian and anti-American. On Wikipedia, many of the dates are provided in the anti-Christian "C.E." instead of "A.D.", which Conservapedia uses. Christianity receives no credit for the great advances and discoveries it inspired, such as those of the Renaissance.

Their server is very busy today, but I found this at first glace:

Wikipedia often uses foreign spelling of words, even though most English speaking users are American. Look up "Most Favored Nation" on Wikipedia and it automatically converts the spelling to the British spelling "Most Favoured Nation", even there there are far more American than British users. Look up "Division of labor" on Wikipedia and it automatically converts to the British spelling "Division of labour," then insists on the British spelling for "specialization" also.[3]. Enter "Hapsburg" (the European ruling family) and Wikipedia automatically changes the spelling to Habsburg, even though the American spelling has always been "Hapsburg". Within entries British spellings appear in the silliest of places, even when the topic is American. Conservapedia favors American spellings of words.

This unbelievable collection of words by a certain Doug Giles has such gems as:

Heck, we don’t understand women. What makes you think we’ll ever understand a man who doesn’t like women yet wants to be a woman?

or

If girls are so icky and men are so mondo-jovial, why do you and a lot of your reps take on feminine mannerisms and dress? I would think that if you are going to be gay you would at least be a man about it.

and

Here are 10 more things you should know about most typical heterosexual males:

5. A hunted wild animal’s gut pile is a glorious and beautiful thing. Long live the hunt and the hunter.

Mr Giles, thank you for exposing to the world what a mindless uninformed species the American hetro is, oh excuse me, can be.

Thursday, February 22, 2007

For nearly a century, a large oval-shape linen tent where George Washington is believed to have slept during the Revolutionary War sat on display in Valley Forge, Pa., with a gaping hole in its roof.

But now a combination of luck and forensic detective work has led to the discovery of the missing section of fabric — snipped out, historians believe, by a memorabilia seeker — and to the discovery that the tent was originally striped blue and white.

"This is a video created by a Nigerian email scammer who thinks he is producing a video for a scholarship payment from a victim he tried to scam. Unfortunately for this particular scammer, the "victim" fought back and created a fake video production company with promises of cash!"

We begin in Greece with Brutus in a good mood, then it's off to Gaul and The List.

Did you notice Anthony and Atia are wearing the wardrobe from "Gladiator"?

So maybe tonight we'll get an episode based around the events of this troubled time in Roman history.

The List! The List!...but no, who do they hand it to but Don Dee.

Yes, my favorite fictional characters are plunged, yet again, into the middle of events. The writers are not up to the task, as their created events integrate uncomfortably with the historical ones.

Case in point: of course the writers have Tweedle Dumb (of all people) pay a little visit on Cicero. Are not he and Don Dee the center of all events? Must they not always be there when major events take place. Is it not the only way we poor viewers could possibly relate to history, but by having so called ordinary everyday psychopaths stand in for us.

Gad, they go on a Picnic. Yes dear, I'm off to murder one of Roman's leading citizen...Let's make a day of it!

You gotta hand it to that Cicero.

Dumb stupid writing, and the show is filled with it. Silly domestic squabbling. Tweedle Dee and Dumb act like robots, their actions not really making a lot of sense.

And for the Most Unbelievable Moment™ Cicero's messenger LOOSES a message, a message he has sworn his life to deliver, because he runs into...wait for it...Tweedle Dee...and doesn't NOTICE it's gone.

Blah blah blah...

More domestic stuff, this time with the rich folk...then something about Zionists....and awww, Tweedle Dumb is Army SIck.

We end with the Battle of Philippi (which begins with one of the great crimes of filmmaking, the reversed shot. As the camera pans over a line of soldiers, it is clear the flag in the background is blowing backwards).

"If you need to urinate, now would be the time"

Vast vistas of computer generated legions, then five minutes of Braveheart.

The Death of Brutus, and Octavian's "reluctance" to enter the battlefield are handled nicely though (I thought the soldiers surrounding Brutus would not do him in, but would just make sure he did the deed himself).

You're proud that Montreal is the home of Pierre Trudeau, Mordechai Richler, William Shatner, Leonard Cohen and the Great Antonio...and, you considerDonald Sutherland (and by default, Keifer), Guy Lafleur, Charlie Biddle, and Roch Carrier Montrealers, too.

You know that Rocket Richard had nothing to do with astrophysics.

You know the apocryphal story of the fat lady at Eaton's.

You miss apostrophes.

You've seen Brother Andre's heart.

No matter how bilingual you are, you still don't understand "ile aux tourtes."

You know the difference between the SQ, the SAQ, and the SAAQ.

You measure temperature and distance in metric, but weight and height in Imperial measure.

You show up at a party at 11 p.m. and no one else is there yet.

April Wine once played your high school (alternativ ely, Sass Jordon or Gowan).

You know that Montreal is responsible for introducing the following to North America: bagels, souvlaki, smoked meat and Supertramp. Also, Chris de Burgh and the Police.

You don't drink pop or soda, you drink soft drinks.

You have graduated from high school and have a degree, but you've never been in grade 12.

The margarine in your fridge is the same colour as lard.

Every once in a while, you wonder whatever happened to Luba.

You never thought that Corey Hart was cool, but you know someone whose cousin or something dated him.

There has to be at least 30 cm of snow on the ground in less than 24 hours for you to consider it too snowy to drive.

You remember where you were during the Ice Storm.

You used to be an Expos fan, but now all you really miss is Youppi.

You're a Habs fan; always was, always will be...

You know that your city's reputation for beautiful women is based on centuries-old couplings between French soldiers and royally-commissioned whores (aka Les Filles du Roi).

You don't understand anyone from Lac-St-Jean, but you can fake the accent.

You've been to the Tam Tams, and know they have nothing to do with wee Scottish hats.

You discuss potholes like most people discuss weather.

You encounter bilingual homeless people.

While watching an American made-for-TV movie, you realize that "Vienna" is actually Old Montreal, that "New York" is actually downtown and that the "The Futuristic City" is actually Habitat '67.

You find it amusing when people from outside Quebec compliment you on how good your English is.

You have yet to understand a single announcement made on the Metro PA system, no matter what the language.

You think of Old Montreal as nothing but a bunch of over-priced restaurants, old buildings and badly paved streets.

You understand that La Fete Nationale is not a celebration of "Quebec's birthday".

You don't find American comedians speaking "gibberish" French even remotely funny.

You don't find it weird that there's a strip club on every corner downtown.

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

In 1977 Albert Kaplan purchased the daguerreotype receipted as "Portrait of a Young Man" from an art gallery in New York. "When I first saw it I thought that there were similarities between the handsome, aristocratic, and tastefully groomed young man of the daguerreotype, and my mental image of President Lincoln."

Over the years Kaplan researched and assembled materials which cast light on the physical man, Lincoln. Kaplan believed that the best qualified people to analyze the image...

There is nothing more rousing than Conservative attack ads...coming from a party in a minority government...who have *just* discovered there is an environment...after that gay bashing thing didn't work out for them...

Oh and how depressing...I wanted to browse the Conservative Online Gifts and Apparel store, but my browser says it "can’t open the page “http://www.cboutique.ca/” because it can’t find the server “www.cboutique.ca”."

Friday, February 09, 2007

This is too funny. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Representative Gary Ackerman (D-NY).

and he continues with this:

The affirmative suggestion that I would make is why can’t the State Department look to pick up all those people that were fired from the military because apparently you don’t have a policy, and put these three dozen Farsi and Arabic people to work doing what you’re suggesting would cost a lot of money to train, etc., because we have them. Can we marry up those two — or maybe that’s the wrong word — can we have some kind of union of those two issues, that you might be willing to –"

Thursday, February 08, 2007

Eddy G. Lazaro, who says "due to my knowledge in love and relationships I specialized in something I call Love Voodoo. (By the age of 13 I had been with over 25 nice looking girls). Now I run my own Love Voodoo business and have clients all over the world...

I make superb macaroni and cheese with special herbs that makes the women go uh uh uhm! I won’t tell you the recipe. It’s my secret."

Wednesday, February 07, 2007

I am pleasantly surprised to hear that Tam Tam still takes place in Montréal.

Its beginnings have stumped Wikipedia ("The origins of this spontaneous gathering are unknown, and it is not organized by the municipal authorities.").

It in began spontaneously and quiet small (as I remember in the very late 80's or early 90's), as people began to gather on Sunday afternoons at the base of the monument to Sir George-Étienne Cartier (the Cartier Monument), and play drums (tam tams in French).

It is connected, at least in spirit, with the older "Sundy in the Park" in N.D.G., who origin dates back even unto the Sixties.

I first attended in 1993 and already it attracted large numbers. Montréal continued to keep hippie alive.

This could be explained away as just a reflection of the "grunge" look, then at its height, but no...

Take a look at this Flickr photo set here, and it is clear hippie is alive and well in Montréal, at least on Sundays.

No, not him. That sums up tonight's episode of HBO's Rome. Romans are all horrible terrible people.

"What about the aqua duct?"

Shut up!

We begin pleasantly enough with Atia enjoying some dinner theatre at home, where one of her slaves sings Monty Python's "The Most Deadly Song in the World"

And deadly is was, as the slave doesn't even make it to the song's end. Atia looses her appetite and her temper and has Servilia's visiting murderous little slave boy tortured and murdered.

Mother, what are you doing now?! Such fun.

Meanwhile...Tweedle Dumb arrives after a battle between Anthony and Octavian to witness a beautifully done camera pan across the battle field. Who should arrive, just at that moment, out of nowhere but a new actor claiming to be Octavian. Using the royal footstool, he drops everything to help T. Dumb find Tweedle Dee (the former Don Dee), even giving him a letter stamped with the royal seal.

Needless to say, Tweedle Dumb does find Tweedle Dee, who gets the news his children are alive.

We then visit Brutus in Turkey for...for...I'm not exactly sure why we did.

Oh no, Servilia has been kidnapped, and we are then given 10 more minutes of torture, until we, and the actors have had enough.

And then, and then...

This episode of Rome was mostly given over to the fictional characters, with the historical elements appearing here and there only where needed. Left to their own devices, these character misbehave in the worst ways possible. The Tweedles amazing influence over the rich and powerful continues as well, including a somewhat unbelievable scene about requesting army leave.

There is a message about torture and war, but it's lost among the images of lovingly crafted violence.

Good elements there are as well though: the increasing "Imperial" look of Octavian and his surrounding, and umm, oh, there must be something else.

Because honestly, it's hard to care for the murderous parade of thugs the writers present us with.

I don't use Windows, never have (oh ok, in work situations, but only by necessity and under extreme protest).

Windows may be a fine OS for certain types of computer needs, but I don't understand why so many people still continue to use it.

For me, the virus/spy/mal ware etc of the Windows world is reason enough not to go there. Period.

But now comes VISTA. Woohoo. More reason to dislike Microsoft.

I pity the legions who switch over, only to find that Microsoft (and Hollywood it seems) have taken back more control from you over your own computer.

It's a Genuine Advantage™, don't you know.

Seems Microsoft can disable, on your computer, software it deems "unwanted". Oh but you can control that feature, no?

From the BBC: the terms and conditions remove any doubt about who is in control by providing that "this agreement only gives you some rights to use the software. Microsoft reserves all other rights".

For those users frustrated by the software's limitations, Microsoft cautions that "you may not work around any technical limitations in the software".

It's good Windows has no limitations...or do they....?

Then comes this piece of joy:

the restrictions associated with the ability to play high-definition content from the next-generation Blu-Ray and HD-DVD discs (referred to as "premium content"). He noted that Vista intentionally degrades the picture quality of premium content when played on most computer monitors.

For your convenience.

Said Microsoft: "If the policies [associated with the premium content] required protections that Windows Vista couldn't support, then the content would not be able to play at all on Windows Vista PCs."

While that may be true, left unsaid is Microsoft's ability to demand a better deal on behalf of its enormous user base or the prospect that users could opt-out of the technical controls.

When Microsoft introduced Windows 95 more than a decade ago, it adopted the Rolling Stones Start Me Up as its theme song. As millions of consumers contemplate the company's latest upgrade, the legal and technological restrictions may leave them singing You Can't Always Get What You Want

LOL, or "It's All Over Now" or "Surprise Surprise" or "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" or...